Blades of Grass

The sky is a deep purple directly above and fades into royal blues to the northeast. Cutting through the clear sky are beams of faded yellow as the sun is starting to rise. Why am I up? I do not know but I am staring out the back porch letting the dogs sniff the new fence while I stare at the time on my phone. 5:27 AM.  So much for keeping a steady sleep schedule for night shift life.
The grass looks thick. The density has altered the color scheme as it takes on a deeper hue in its growth. I should cut it.
I reach under the two foot gap under the deck to grab the manual lawnmower. A first in my 20 years of mowing, manual. I do not breathe in exhaust as I walk the lanes of the lawn nor do my shoes stain into mint green anymore. Saving the earth trim by trim is also a great benefit.
Forearms flex, fingers wrap around the cushion, and my back arches. Let's do this.
Hundreds of shavings spit to the top of the cylinder blade system and fall to every side. In front of the blades lies the next thousand thin green victims. They might have their rock and twig security system hidden in their trenches to clog the blades. Surrounding my feet are proud green children fresh from their weekly haircut that they were so scared of at first.
To the back fence, pivot, turn, and push. Next strip has a land mine from the dogs in the path. Too much momentum, can't stop! Through the metal it gets diced and tossed to the side. Gross in concept but after fifteen seconds the horror has faded.
Almost done. The weeds lining the base of the fence and walkway remain. Time for the electric sidekick "Weed Whippah!" to make its presence known. The trigger engaged and a constant hum accompanies furious spinning of plastic. Eliminate the grass down to the dirt and while "Weed Whippah!" is going full steam it kicks up some dirt too.
W.W!, for short, gears down after another lawn saved.
The dampness of the morning dew saturates my shoes and their is a moderate smell of nature's sweat rising from the earth. This is the smell of victory.